The Pickleball Club hosts monthly tournaments for students to help campus stay active and build connections. With no entry fee or requirements, anyone can join and enjoy playing pickleball with no stress. 

Maddox Trail, a junior laboratory science major from Rector, Arkansas, is the club’s founder and president. He said this club is a more casual version of the intramural pickleball available. 

“We just want to introduce them to the sport of pickleball. It’s really growing among college age kids. I think it’s one of, if not the, fastest growing sport among our age groups. Introducing it to those people, building community, getting your friends who play pickleball, that’s the main goal.”

Pickleball is a blend of tennis, badminton and table tennis. Two or four players use a paddle to hit the plastic ball back and forth, with underhand serves, to gain points for their team. While some say it’s an “old person sport,” it’s currently one of the fastest-growing sports across all ages.

Trail said to keep the club beginner-friendly, they don’t have practice times or dates, just tournaments open to anyone, often with community partnerships. The club hosted its first tournament in partnership with Red Wolves for St. Jude in March 2025, and has been going strong ever since. 22 teams signed up for the event and the tournament ended up raising almost $500 for awareness for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Sarah Rodriguez, a junior nursing major from Conway, Arkansas, is the Sponsorship Director for Red Wolves for St. Jude.

“I love playing pickleball. I think it’s a great way to have fun and relieve stress even if you aren’t good at it. We would love for this to be an annual tournament and this will be the second one,” Rodrigues said

The Pickleball club will host another event in partnership with Red Wolves for St. Jude on March 19 from 5-8 p.m. Those who wish to participate in the tournament can visit the Red Wolves for St. Jude Instagram and sign up at the link in their bio. All proceeds go to St. Jude Research Hospital. 

Trail founded the club after his fellow pack leaders in Summer 2024 introduced him to the sport. 

“I had played tennis for a little bit of time. I briefly heard about pickleball, but I didn’t have anybody to play tennis with, so I was like, “Okay, I’ll play pickleball,”” Trail said. “And that really helped me connect with them.”

He said that connection is what he wants for every A-State student who joins Pickleball Club. 

“I didn’t really ever hang out with them (other pack leaders) outside of doing the pack leader stuff, so it’s a great way to get to know people, and that’s what I wanted for the club.”

Kenny Nguyen, a junior accounting major from Jonesboro, said joining the pickleball club has been one of his favorite parts of his A-State experience. 

“It’s a super welcoming group and an easy way to meet people outside of class while staying active,” Nguyen said. “I’ve made connections through the club that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and it’s been something I genuinely look forward to, including tournaments, and philanthropy events.”

The club currently has big plans for the future, including a potential tournament partnered with United Way, a non-profit organization in Jonesboro. 

Trail says Pickleball Club is easy to get connected with and ready to welcome anyone, regardless of experience or skill. Pickleball, depending on who you play with, can be played competitively or casually between friends. Just because it’s considered a low-impact sport doesn’t mean it’s not a good source of exercise.
For more information or to join, email the club’s faculty advisor, Micayla McGowen, at mmcgowen@AState.edu or Trail at maddox.trail@smail.astate.edu.

Categories: Life